The Young Science of Ancient DNA

Originally broadcast from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on January 23, 2020: . From the migration patterns of our ancestors to the demise of the woolly mammoth, ancient DNA gives us unprecedented access to our environmental past. Join evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro to explore what this relatively new field of research can tell us about our past, present and future. Beth Shapiro Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz Evolutionary biologist who specializes in the genetics of ice age animals and plants. As Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California Santa Cruz and Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, uses DNA recovered from bones and other remains to study how species evolved through time and how human activities affected this dynamic process. Completed undergraduate education at the University of Georgia in 1999 and PhD at Oxford University in 2003, where, as a Rhodes Scholar, developed tools to infer changes in species’ abundance and distribution from chronological samples of genetic data. Has since used these to trace evolutionary changes in organisms ranging from influenza to mammoths, asking questions about domestication, admixture and pathogen evolution. Current work develops techniques to recover increasingly trace amounts of DNA such as from environmental and forensic samples. A 2009 MacArthur Fellow; award-winning popular science author and communicator who uses research as a platform to explore the potential of genomic technologies for conservation and medicine. Emma Teeling Professor, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin International leader in the cross-cutting fields of mammalian phylogenetics and comparative genomics, with particular expertise in bat biology. Established the Laboratory of Molecular Evolution and Mammalian Phylogenetics in 2005; Founding Director, Centre for Irish Bat Research, University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland; Head of Zoology, UCD. Integrative research in the fields of zoology, phylogenetics, genomics and conservation biology uncovers the genetic signatures of survival that enables species to adapt to an ever-changing environment, with a unique focus on bats. Author of more than 100 internationally peer-reviewed papers, 6 book chapters, 4 invited subject reviews in high-profile journals such as Nature, Science, Proceedings, National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, Nature Ecology and Evolution, Science Advances. Total citation record of 8,336; international keynote lecturer; invited to collaborations such as Genome 10K; and public presentations (e.g., TED talk, BBC’s Science Club with Dara Ó Briain). Member of academic boards and institutes, including: Irish Research Council Board; Royal Irish Academy. Recipient, Chevalier des Palmes Académiques, 2017, French Government. Founding Director, Bat1K, a global consortium of individuals united to sequence the genome of every living bat species to chromosome level assembly, to uncover the molecular basis of bats’ adaptations (e.g., extended health span and disease tolerance).